Urinary retention due to an enlarged prostate gland necessitates catheterization or surgery to allay possible kidney damage. Drugs that can shrink the prostate or relieve some of the constriction in the muscles that bound the gland can take months to have a notable effect. During such time, a catheter, such as the Foley, must be kept in place. Or the individual may choose to use a removable ‘self catheter’ repeatedly, day and night, whenever urine accumulation in the bladder dictates.
A Foley catheter provides continuous drainage into a collection bag. The latter is a hindrance to carry, drain, and disguise within clothing. Because of likely tugs on the catheter due to the collection bag and its tubing, there is an inflated bulb on a Foley. Such is most effective in preventing the unintentional slippage of the catheter from the body. But that bulb necessitates that the urine inlet slots be located from 1″ to 1½″ above the bottom of the bladder. If there is bleeding anywhere in the bladder, coagulated blood can accumulate below the bulb, and can cause blockage of the tube inlets, as when the user lies down. And because the Foley catheter is essentially unmoved once inserted, there is a chance that such can become incrusted with mineral deposits that could make a Foley difficult to remove.
Self-cathetering eliminates the hindrance of a bulky urine collection bag and its tubing, but entails repeated insertion of a semi-hard rubber tube through the urethra. There can be pain and irritation from the friction of that catheter type, even when well lubricated. And there is a high probability of introducing bacteria into the bladder, causing uncomfortable cystitis. When there is infection or irritation, the threshold of urine build-up—before getting the urge to void the bladder—is lowered. For that reason, self-cathetering can exacerbate problems which it was hoped would be lessened.
As with self-cathetering, the present invention drains urine from the bladder whenever the user feels the urge of an accumulation. But unlike with self-cathetering, such drainage can be actuated by as little as one inch of upward insertion of that left-in-place tube. The greatly shortened insertion distance is made possible because the drainage inlet of the tube is located below a retaining, barb-like metal tip. The constriction of the prostate gland itself prevents urine from flowing into the inlet slot until such slot is intentionally pushed up into the urine pool by the user. After doing so, urine can flow out the distal end of the tubing, once a stock tubing clamp has been opened.
Because of the much reduced insertion distance, the chance that bacteria can be pushed into the bladder is reduced, too—as is the pain and involvement in time and preparation for inserting a long tube each time voiding is needed. Because the tubing gets moved, regularly, the chance that mineral deposits will form is lessened—allowing this new catheter type to remain in place for longer periods than a Foley. When removal is desired, the size of the barb end of the metal tip is small enough to allow the catheter to be slowly pulled out. The eased edges of the barb will reduce the chance of injury to the urethra in doing so.
Conceptually, a sterile-water-inflated bulb can be substituted for the metal barb in the present embodiment of this invention, provided the urine inlet slot(s) is located well below the bulb, and there is sufficient catheter length beyond the tip of the penis to allow that variant of catheter to be pushed upward for actuating the catheter, while allowing room for a tubing clamp. The latter is needed to prevent leaks as could happen when the prostate and its musculature change over time due to the drugs being taken or other causal factors.